


One More Cup of Coffee

by highonchocolate



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Asexual Cassandra Cain, Bisexual Disaster Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Demisexual Adrien Agreste, F/F, Fluff, Gay Luka Couffaine, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Cassandra Cain, Lesbian Chloé Bourgeois, Lesbian Kagami Tsurugi, Lesbian Stephanie Brown, Multi, Threesome - F/F/F, aromantic adrien agreste, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28331142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highonchocolate/pseuds/highonchocolate
Summary: There’s a cafe on Spoiler and Black Bat’s patrol route with a very cute barista...ML Secret Santa for @togetherwekill
Relationships: Cassandra Cain/Marinette Dupain Cheng | Ladybug/Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Kagami Tsurugi & Marinette Dupain Cheng & Chloé Bourgeois & Luka Couffaine & Adrien Agreste, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 14
Kudos: 123





	One More Cup of Coffee

_The Queer Cafe: A Safe Space for LGBTQ+ People. All are welcome!_

Spoiler stared down at the cafe from her perch on a nearby rooftop. Black Bat crouched beside her, silent and still as ever, her only movement the flutter of her cape in the wind. The little shop was located in Amusement Mile, just on the outskirts of Crime Alley. Quite an interesting location for a cafe.

Logically, since it posed no threat, they should have moved on in their patrol route a while ago, but something was keeping her rooted to the spot. As cliche as it sounds, it was as if the Universe wanted her to go inside. 

Looking over at her partner, Spoiler indicated the still-open shop. “Wanna check it out? Patrol’s slow tonight.” 

Black Bat paused for a moment, considering the question, before nodding once. “Fast.”

“Yeah, okay. We’ll make it fast.” She jumped down from the building, landing in front of the door in a flash of purple. Black Bat followed, a silent shadow beside her.

She pulled open the door, and the heavenly scent of baked goods and coffee hit her nose. “Oh my gosh,” She moaned longingly. “That smells amazing.” She quickly walked (not ran, good vigilantes don’t run when they smell delicious food) inside, hand clasped around Black Bat’s to drag her in as well. The cheery jingle of the bell above the door chimed once, twice, and the two baristas at the counter looked up at the noise. One was male, with black hair frosted a light teal at the tips, and the other was female, with blond hair and blue eyes. “I don’t understand why I can’t be on the morning shift with Nettie and Kagami!” The blonde one was complaining as they approached the counter.

“Chloé, we all know that if you were in the morning shift, you would be cranky as hell because you had to get up at six. Don’t even try and deny it.” The man laughed. “Besides, you just want to be with your girlfriend while she works.” 

“..Maybe.” The girl, Chloé, grumbled in reply, crossing her arms petulantly.

Noticing Spoiler and Black Bat, they immediately stopped chatting and turned to the counter. 

“Hello. How may I help you?” The blue haired man smiled as they approached. His eyes were unnaturally teal, and they seemed to flash as they made eye contact. He radiated tranquillity, as opposed to Chloé, who seemed to have a loud, crackling energy that demanded your attention, and tugged at you until you noticed her presence. 

“Hey, uh, Luka.” Spoiler squinted at his name tag. “Could I get a cup of coffee, with cream and sugar?” 

“Sure.” He turned away to prepare her order, humming softly as he worked.

“What would you like?” Chloé turned to face Black Bat, a customer service smile plastered on her face.

Black Bat said nothing, opting to remain quiet in the face of this stranger, sizing her up and analyzing her body language to get a read on her character. 

At her silence, Chloé’s smile turned a bit more real, electric blue eyes softening as she pointed to a sign next to the display case.

**All our employees are fluent in ASL, French, and English. Let us know if you speak a different language!**

Black Bat scanned it briefly, before nodding once and lifting her hands to sign. ‘Black coffee, please.’ 

‘No cream or sugar?’ Chloé signed back.

‘Sugar, no cream.’

‘Okay, You can head down there and wait,’ she indicated the other end of the counter, ‘your order will be completed shortly.’

“Thank you.” Spoiler spoke, cringing at how her words broke the calm silence that had come with their nonverbal conversation.

Chloé gave her a small smile. “You’re welcome.” 

—-

They were silent as they grappled back home. When they had showered and eaten, Stephanie turned to Cass who was curled up beside her one the couch. “What’d you think of that cafe?” She asked quietly, running her fingers through dark hair, still damp and smelling faintly of flowers from her earlier shower. 

Cass hummed thoughtfully, head resting on Steph’s shoulder. “Safe. Trustworthy.” She paused. “Go back in the morning?” 

Steph smiled down at her. “Yeah, I’d like that. Maybe they have waffles.” She said hopefully, wiggling excitedly at the thought.

Cass laughed quietly, turning her head and pressing a quick kiss to her shoulder. Standing, she offered a hand and pulled Steph up. “Bedtime.”

“Yeah, I can get behind that.” She yawned, swatting away the blond strands of hair hanging in her face. “Lead the way, babe.” 

—-

They woke up a few hours later, cuddled together in a mess of limbs underneath the warm blanket. Yawning, Cass gently untangled herself from Steph’s grip, before heading into the bathroom to brush her teeth. 

By the time she walked back out in black tights and a matching sweatshirt, Steph was awake, blonde hair a tangled mess on her head. She snuggled deeper into her blanket as Cass approached, stubbornly keeping her eyes shut. Cass’ lips quirked into a smile at her adorably grumpy look. 

“Come.” She kissed her nose gently, “Going to cafe.” 

Steph grumbled out a sleepy reply, eyes finally opening. 

“Gimme,” She yawned, “Fifteen minutes, Cass.” Another yawn. “And then we can go.” 

Cass beamed down at her, giving her another kiss-on the cheek this time- before heading downstairs.

True to her word, Stephanie came downstairs fifteen minutes later, clad in warm black leggings and a white top, purple cardigan thrown around her shoulders.

“Let’s go!” She grinned, earlier tiredness replaced with her usual vibrant energy. 

Cass smiled back, already straddling her sleek black motorcycle. Seeing her girlfriend’s ride, Steph immediately hopped onto her matching purple bike, revving the engine and following behind as they weaved through the busy streets.

They stopped in front of the familiar storefront, the charming sign proudly declaring it was ‘Open for Business’

The bell above the door once again heralded their arrival with a loud chime. This time there were two women at the counter. They could have been mistaken for twins with their matching heads of raven hair, if it wasn’t for their different colored eyes and facial structure. Interestingly, when one of them shifted, her sleeve moved, revealing a hexagonal tattoo on her inner wrist. Cass immediately noticed it, nudging Steph softly in the side, and she immediately committed its whorls and lines to memory. Thankfully it didn’t seem to match any of the gang symbols she knew of, which was a relief. The food here was so good she’d hate to have to fight the owners in some turf war next week or something.

“Hello!” The one with the tattoo grinned at them, otherworldly sapphire eyes gleaming. What was it with these people and their strange eyes? “What would you like today?” 

“Coffee, cream with no sugar.” Cass said, spine straight, gaze unwavering. Assessing. The other woman didn’t even flinch in the face of her stare, choosing to smile, even as a pink flush crept over her cheeks. Her name tag read Marinette.

“Of course! Would you like anything else?”

“Bagel, please.” 

“Okay.” Some hair had fallen out of her messy bun, and she tucked it behind her ear as she turned to Steph. “What would you like?” 

“Uh, do you have waffles?” Steph blurted out, feeling embarrassed for no reason. 

“We do! Would you like any toppings?”

“Um, just whipped cream and chocolate syrup, if you don’t mind.” She fought the urge to fidget. 

Why was she getting so nervous?! It wasn’t her first time meeting a pretty girl! Besides, she already had a girlfriend.

_‘But Cass said she would be open to three, remember?’_ A traitorous voice whispered in her mind. 

She squashed it down. Marinette probably wasn’t even interested in her, much less the two of them.

“No problem. Do you want a drink with that or is water good?”

“Water’s fine, thank you.”

“And can I have a name for your order?” 

“Oh, it’s Stephanie. Stephanie Brown.”

Marinette smiled, “Your order will be out in a few minutes. Feel free to take a seat in the meantime!”

She walked over to a vacant table with two seats and plopped down in one, allowing her head to thunk down on the table with a groan. She heard Cass slide into the seat across from her, and felt her warm hand grip her own. “Was pretty.” Cass said quietly, noticing her blush. “Maybe…?”

She allowed the question to hang in the air as Steph lifted her head to look over at her. “Those _eyes_ ,” she said reverently. “I think I’m in love.” 

Cass shot her an answering grin, answering the unspoken question hovering over their heads. _Yes_ , She seemed to say. _I would be okay with both of you._

“You sure?” Steph breathed out hopefully. After all, she had been the one to suggest the idea of a third in the first place. 

“Yes.” She nodded firmly. Anything else they were going to say was cut off by the arrival of their food. 

“Here you go!” Marinette smiled cheerily, setting two plates down. 

“Thank you, this looks amazing!” Stephanie told her enthusiastically, the warm scent of just baked waffles rising to her nose, mixing pleasantly with the smells of bagels and coffee.

“Smells good. Thank you.” Cass smiled up at her, watching as she flushed from their compliments.

“Oh, thank you! Enjoy!” She smoothed down her skirt and walked back to the counter with a smile.

—-

Before Steph knew it, they were going to that little cafe nearly every day, and although she tried to deny it, she knew it was because they both had the smallest crush on a certain ravenette. But Marinette clearly did not like their presence, if the way she would turn red (flushed or angry?) and begin to stutter or ramble whenever they were within ten feet of each other was any indication. 

She also seemed to get more worked up whenever they stopped by, seeing as she once dropped an entire plate of tiramisu when they walked in through the door. Not to mention all the other times it happened, whether it was dumping a batch of flour over her head, or spilling coffee on her apron, but it only served to make her that much sweeter in their eyes.

Of course, Adrien, another barista with blond hair and a forest green gaze, was quick to reassure the both of them that Marinette was a hopeless bisexual disaster, and she would always turn fire engine red and trip over her words (and feet) whenever she had a crush on someone.

After that, it was easy for them to ask her out.

“Hey Steph, hey Cass!” She laughed nervously. “What can I get you for today?”

Cass, straight to the point as always, stepped forward and looked her in the eyes. “Your number.” 

It was comical how fast her face turned red. “What?”

“Could we get your number, Mari?” Steph repeated, refusing to waver.

“I didn’t think you were interested-uh are you sure?” She spluttered.

“Yes,” They said in unison, ignoring how Adrien was cheering in the background.

“Oh wow, um okay, sure!” She tucked her hair behind her ears nervously, grabbing a pink sticky note and scribbling down a set of numbers in looping cursive.

“Thanks Mari,” Steph grinned, “We’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Oh! Um, yeah!” She waved as they walked out of the store. And continued waving, a lovestruck grin on her face.

“Bug, you can put your hand down now,” Adrien laughed.

“Oh my god Adrien!” She let her head drop into her palms, “That was a disaster! On a scale from ‘you’ll be fine’ to ‘never show your face in public again,’ how bad was it?”

“I think it was pretty good, considering they’re both coming back tomorrow, and they asked you for your number,” He said, wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively. “Is there some romance in our Mari’s future?”

“Wait, were they both flirting with me?!” She shrieked, suddenly jolting up from her slumped position. “Was that them asking me on a date?!”

“How would I know? Romance is over my head.” He shrugged. “Ask Chloé if you need help with that kinda thing.”

“Oh my god,” She groaned, sliding down in her seat. “I’m hopeless.” 

“Hopelessly in love!”

—-

Soon enough, the two of them were regulars at the little cafe, in both their civilian and vigilante lives.

Cass would spend hours listening t o Luka’s music, the two of them communicating in a language only they seemed to understand. 

Stephanie and Chloé also grew close, their loud personalities and similar temperaments often prompting people to ask if they were twins, or sisters. 

Spoiler and Adrien hit it off as well, joking back and forth with each other as he prepared her order at ungodly hours of the morning, sunshine smile ever present.

Kagami and Black Bat, as unlikely a pairing as it seemed, also bonded over fighting styles, and their shared determination to get things done.

Group movie nights, random get togethers, spontaneous trips to the mall, soon the two of them couldn’t imagine life without the crazy group of five that had somehow become such a major part of their lives.

—-

And one winter night, as they cuddled together on Cass’ couch, Marinette told them of nineteen gods, bound to jewelry, and how time and time again heroes rose to protect the world. She spoke of a temple burned to ash, a sacred duty passed down from Master to Apprentice, and a tale of a corrupted brooch and how a man's undying love for his wife drove him to darkness. 

And after she finished her tale, silver tears glistening on her cheeks from the memories she had relived, Steph and Cass pulled her closer, clutching her tightly; and recounted their stories to her, whispering to her of swinging through the city at night, watching from the shadows high above, and battling in the name of justice.

As she snuggled deeper into her girlfriends’ warm embrace, Stephanie couldn’t help but be grateful for the small pull of fate that had led her into a coffee shop at two in the morning. 

Nothing could possibly ruin this.

Until her phone chimed with texts from Dick, Alfred, Bruce, and Tim asking her what, exactly, she thought she was doing, and why she was in a random apartment near Crime Alley. 

So that’s what they forgot...

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you liked, and don’t forget to come say hi on [tumblr](https://highonchocolate.tumblr.com)!


End file.
